This synthesis report consolidates findings from two external evaluations of Oxfam’s Female Food Heroes (FFH) initiative in Nigeria and Ethiopia, conducted in 2024–2025. Since its launch in 2012, the program has celebrated and empowered women smallholder farmers, enhancing their leadership, visibility, and contributions to food security, gender justice, and rural livelihoods. The evaluations found that FFH has positively impacted awardees by improving self-confidence, economic opportunities, and policy engagement, while also challenging stereotypes about women in agriculture.

However, the report highlights persistent gaps that undermine the long-term sustainability and collective impact of the initiative. These include weak alumni engagement structures, limited staffing and financial resources, underdeveloped monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems, and entrenched cultural and structural barriers that restrict women’s leadership in agriculture. The program’s reliance on spotlighting individual champions has not been sufficient to overcome systemic inequalities without stronger collective action and gender-transformative approaches.

The report calls for a revitalized FFH model that invests in formal alumni networks, dedicated staffing, flexible funding, gender-transformative strategies, and robust MEL systems. Scaling up media engagement and linking alumni voices to national and regional policy dialogues are also key to sustaining impact. By embedding these recommendations, FFH can evolve into a more resilient, scalable, and transformative platform that empowers women farmers, strengthens inclusive food systems, and advances gender equality across Africa.

You can find case study on Nigeria here and the case study on Ethiopia here.